If you met Erin Beatty anywhere but her New York garment district showroom, you might not guess that she is in the fashion industry. Sure, she was dressed in an artsy way when we caught up with her during Fashion Week. She wore a khaki button-front shirtdress embroidered with the heads of some adorable dogs, little chains dangling from their little necks more like jewelry than collars. But she didn’t appear to be wearing makeup on a Sunday afternoon and she talked in a thoughtful way about clothing. Not fawning over it, but noting what makes it special. Knits woven in Peru. Embroidery inspired by Russia. Pinstripes that have an androgynous quality.

The 34-year-old creative director of the hot label Suno brings something different to the cutting table. Which is why she and her partner, Max Osterweis, snagged the Swarovski Womenswear Award at the 2013 Council of Fashion Designers of America ceremony earlier this week.

Suno, named for Max’s mother (he’s half-Korean, half-German), isn’t the flashy, sparkly kind of line that’s going to be worn by socialites to big charity parties. It’s more likely to show up at an art opening, an about-to-be-discovered restaurant. Or on a young actress like Hailee Steinfeld, who wore a cropped tank and full skirted Suno design to the CFDA Awards.

For Beatty, clothing should be interesting and have something about it that is special. It needs to be made ethically, with those who create the textiles or apply the beading compensated fairly. Beatty also hopes the woman who wears Suno is intelligent and engaged with the world, not just flaunting a label or her figure. Those things alone set the brand apart from many in the industry.

Levi’s might be America’s oldest denim brand, but the company is keeping its young spirit alive through ventures with emerging designers.
First they sponsored a Bravo TV “Project Runway” challenge in which the contestants used 501s and jean jackets, rivets and zippers to craft new designs. Christian’s skinny jeans and shrunken jacket won the challenge but a strapless dress by Ricky was judged by Michael Kors, Nina Garcia and Caroline Calvin, Levi’s global creative senior VP, as the look to be offered at levi.com (Sorry to say the $168 frock is already sold out). Levi’s also ran an online contest as part of Project 501 and will make and sell another garment online once the winner is picked.
The other recent partnership had Levi’s teaming up with GQ and the Council of Fashion Designers of America to select six designers as finalists in the Best New Menswear Designers in America project. GQ hosted a party kicking off Fashion Week to present the fall collections of Engineered Garments (Daiki Suzuki and Angelo Urrutia), Gilded Age (Stefan Miljanic’s designs for fall are shown above), Obedient Sons (Swaim Hutson and Christina Hutson), Rag & Bone (David Neville and Marcus Wainwright), Simon Spurr for Spurr and Steven Alan.
The designers are featured in GQ this month and are competing for a $50,000 cash prize and opportunity to create a capsule collection for Levi’s. Calvin and other industry experts will help judge the entries. The winner’s line will be featured at several Bloomingdale’s locations this fall and will be available at levi.com. The winner also gets an editorial in GQ’s September issue.